Orientales Omnes Ecclesias

Encyclical on the Reunion of the Ruthenian Church with Rome
His Holiness Pope Pius XII
Promulgated on December 23, 1945

To the Venerable Brethren, the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops, and other Ordinaries in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See.

ALL THE EASTERN CHURCHES, as history proves, have ever been the object of
the deep affection of the Roman pontiffs, who, grieving as deeply over
their leaving the one fold and "not for any human motive, but impelled by
divine charity and a desire for the salvation of all,"[1] have again and
again called upon them to return speedily to the unity which they had
unhappily abandoned. They were absolutely convinced that if this union
were happily restored the most fruitful consequences would result both
for the whole of Christendom and for the orientals in particular; for the
Mystical Body of Jesus Christ and all its members cannot but greatly
benefit from the full and perfect unity of all Christians.

2. In this connection it should be borne in mind that the orientals need
have no fear at all of being compelled to abandon their lawful rites and
customs if unity of faith and government is restored; our predecessors
have more than once made this absolutely clear. "Nor is there any reason
for you to fear on that account that we or any of our successors will
ever diminish your rights, the privileges of your patriarchs, or the
established ritual of any one of your churches."[2]

3. The happy day has not yet come on which, all the peoples of the East
returning to the fold, we should be able to embrace them all with the
affection of the father. Nonetheless we have the happiness of seeing not
a few of our sons from those countries; these, since they have recognized
the Chair of Peter as the center of Catholic unity, persevere with the
greatest tenacity in defending and strengthening this same unity.

4. Among them there is special reason why it pleases us to speak at
present of the Church of the Ruthenians; not only is it outstanding for
the number of its members and its zeal in retaining the faith, but also
this is the three hundred and fiftieth year since it was happily restored
to communion with the Apostolic See. It is, indeed, especially incumbent
on those directly involved to celebrate this happy event in a spirit of
gratitude, but we think it opportune also to recall it to the memory of
all Catholics, so that they may ceaselessly give thanks to God for this
great blessing, and also may join with us in earnest prayer that He would
mercifully ease and alleviate the present distress and apprehension of
this beloved people, would protect its most holy region, direct its
constancy and preserve its faith unharmed.

5. We think it will be useful if in this letter we give a brief
historical summary of the events with which we are concerned. It must be
observed in the first place that even before the union of the Ruthenians
with the Apostolic See was happily concluded at Rome and confirmed at
Brest in 1595 and 1596, these people had more than once looked to the
Roman Church as the one mother of the whole Christian community and
dutifully paid it due obedience and reverence. Thus, for instance, the
noble prince who is reverenced by the numberless peoples of the Russian
empire as the author and promoter of their conversion to the Christian
faith, St. Vladimir, borrowed liturgical rites and sacred ceremonies from
the Eastern Church; but he not only dutifully persevered in the unity of
the Catholic Church, but also took pains to establish friendly relations
between his nation and the Apostolic See. Not a few of his descendants
also received the legates of the Roman pontiffs with due honor and were
fraternally united with other Catholic communities, even after the Church
of Constantinople was separated by the lamentable schism.

6. It follows that the action of the metropolitan Isidore of Kiev and the
Russians was in harmony with the most ancient tradition of the Ruthenian
Church when, in 1439, at the ecumenical council of Florence he signed the
decree which solemnly united the Greek to the Latin Church. Nevertheless
upon his return from the council, although he was joyfully welcomed at
Kiev, his titular see, shortly afterwards at Moscow he was cast into
prison and compelled to take to flight and leave the country.

7. However, although it might well have been totally blotted out on
account of the sorry conditions of the period, the memory of this happy
union of the Ruthenians with the Apostolic See was not wholly lost with
the passage of time. For example in 1458 Gregory Mammas, patriarch of
Constantinople, in this holy city, consecrated a certain Gregory as
metropolitan of the Ruthenians, who were then subject to the grand duke
of Lithuania; and again, more than one of the successors of this
metropolitan strove to restore the bond of unity with the Roman Church,
although adverse circumstances did not permit the solemn public
promulgation of union.

8. Towards the end of the sixteenth century, however, it became daily
more obvious that there was no hope of achieving the desired renewal and
reform of the Ruthenian Church, which w as then borne down by grave
abuses, except by restoring union with the Apostolic See. Even dissident
historians describe and freely admit the wretched state this Church was
then in. In 1585 the Ruthenian nobles, meeting together in Warsaw,
asserted, in the course of a sharp and vivid exposition to the
metropolitan of their grievances, that their Church was plagued by
greater evils than had ever previously existed or could ever be in the
future. These nobles did not hesitate to arraign the metropolitan
himself, the bishops and the superiors of monasteries, bringing serious
charges against them. The mere fact that laymen should thus rise up
against the hierarchy made it evident that ecclesiastical discipline was
not a little relaxed.

9. It is not surprising therefore that the bishops themselves, after
vainly trying various remedies, concluded that the only hope for the
Ruthenian Church lay in bringing about its return to Catholic unity. At
that time the most powerful man among the Ruthenians was prince
Constantine Ostrozhsky and he was in favor of this return, but only on
condition that the whole Eastern Church should come to an agreement with
the Western; later, when he saw that the plan was not going to be carried
out in the way he desired, he became a violent opponent of the
restoration of unity. None the less, on 2nd December 1594, the
metropolitan and six bishops, after taking counsel together, published a
joint declaration in which they proclaimed themselves ready to promote
agreement and the long desired union. We have come to this determination,
they wrote, "from the consideration, full of sadness for us, of how great
are the hindrances men find in the way of salvation in the absence of
this union of the Churches of God. From the time of Christ our Savior and
his holy apostles, as the canons and councils make clear, our
predecessors long continued in this union; they acknowledged one supreme
pastor and first bishop in the Church of God on earth, no other than the
holy pope of Rome, and obeyed him in all things. While this state of
affairs remained in its vigor there was ever order in the Church of God
and increase of divine worship."[3]

10. However, long and difficult negotiations were necessary before they
could give effect to this praiseworthy determination. A new declaration
of the same kind was first issued in the name of all the bishops on 22nd
June 1595, and at length towards the end of September such progress had
been made that Cyril Terletski, bishop of Lutsk, and Hypatius Pociei,
bishop of Vladimir were able to set out for Rome as representatives of
all the rest of the bishops. They took with them on this journey a
document setting out the conditions on which all the Ruthenian bishops
were ready to embrace the unity of the Church. Our predecessor Clement
VIII received them very benevolently and committed the document they had
brought to a committee of cardinals for careful examination and approval.
Discussions of the whole matter began at once and finally reached the
desired happy result. On 23rd December 1595 the emissaries were admitted
to the presence of the supreme pontiff; they read the declaration of all
the bishops before the illustrious assembly and then in their own name
and that of the other bishops made a solemn profession of faith and
promised due obedience and respect.

11. On the same day our predecessor Clement VIII joyfully communicated
the news of this happy event to the world by the Apostolic constitution
Magnus Dominus et laudabilis nimis.[4] How great was the joy and goodwill
with which the Roman Church welcomed the Ruthenian people on their
reception into the unity of the fold may be seen also from the Apostolic
Letter Benedictus sit Pastor, issued on 7th February 1596, in which the
supreme pontiff informed the metropolitan and the other Ruthenian bishops
of the happy establishment of the union of their whole Church with the
Apostolic See. In this letter the Roman pontiff briefly set forth what
had been done in the matter at Rome; he gratefully extolled the work they
had by God's mercy at length undertaken, and then decreed that the
legitimate uses and rites of the Ruthenian Church could be preserved
inviolate. "In the same manner as the council of Florence permitted, we
too permit you to retain your rites and ceremonies, which in no way
injure the integrity of the Catholic faith or our union."[5] He goes on
to say that he has asked the king of Poland to extend the protection of
his patronage to the bishops and all appertaining to them, and also to
pay them the fullest honor and, as they desired, to admit them to the
senate of the kingdom. Finally he fraternally exhorts the bishops to meet
as soon as possible in a full provincial council to ratify and confirm
the union of the Ruthenians with the Catholic Church.

12. This council was held at Brest. There were present, besides all the
Ruthenian bishops, many other ecclesiastics and representatives of the
king, the Latin bishops of Lvov, Lutsk and Chelm as papal legates. The
bishops of Lvov and Przemysl unhappily withdrew the consent they had
previously given, but in spite of this on 8th October 1596 the union of
the Ruthenian community with the Catholic Church was happily confirmed
and proclaimed. It was the general hope that this union and association,
which answered so perfectly the needs of the Ruthenian people, would be
abundantly fruitful of good.

13. However, "an enemy came and scattered tares among the wheat";[6]
whether the cause was the greed of some of the nobles, or political
quarrels, or that the previous instruction and preparation of clergy and
people in the matter had been neglected, there followed sharp conflicts
and protracted calamities, so that there was cause to fear that the work
so happily begun would be utterly destroyed.

14. That this did not befall at the very outset on account of calumnies
and dissensions, in which not only the dissident brethren but also some
Catholics took part, was chiefly due to the metropolitans Hypatius Pociei
and Joseph Velamin Rutsky. They were indefatigable in their efforts to
protect and promote the cause of the union; in particular they brought it
about that priests and the members of monasteries should conform to
ecclesiastical law and the requirements of good morals, and that all the
faithful should be instructed in the virtuous ordinances of the true
faith.

15. This work of conciliation was consecrated not many years later by the
blood of martyrdom. Josaphat Kuntzevitch, archbishop of Polotsk and
Vitebsk, was famed for his holiness of life and apostolic zeal, and was
an intrepid champion of Catholic unity. He was hunted down with bitter
hatred and murderous intent by the schismatics and on 12th November 1623
he was inhumanly wounded and slain with a halberd. But the hallowed blood
of this martyr too became in a manner the seed of the Church, for all the
parricides save one, repenting of their deed, renounced schism and
execrated their crime before they were put to death. It may also be
attributed to the prayers of the holy martyr that Melety Smotritzky, who
had been the bitter rival of Josaphat for possession of the see of
Polotsk, returned to the Catholic faith in 1627 and, after a period of
vacillation, for the rest of his life stoutly defended the return of the
Ruthenians to the Catholic Church.

16. Nonetheless the difficulties of every kind hindering reconciliation
increased from year to year. The most serious of these was that the kings
of Poland, who at first were regarded as patrons and promoters of the
scheme, were now compelled by the fear of their foreign foes and by
domestic factions to make ever greater concessions to those, and there
were not wanting some, who hated Catholic unity. The result was that in a
short time, as the Ruthenian bishops themselves confessed, this holy
cause was left with no other protection to rely upon but that of the
Roman pontiffs. They for their part supported the Ruthenian Church by
affectionate letters, such helps as they could supply, and particularly
by means of the Apostolic Nuncio in Poland.

17. The sadder the times became, the more the prudence of the Ruthenian
bishops was made manifest; they made every effort to instruct the
uncultivated populace in Christian doctrine, to raise the insufficiently
instructed clergy to a higher degree of learning in sacred doctrine, and
to imbue monks whose observance had become slack with a new zeal for
discipline and spirit of holiness. They did not lose heart even in 1632,
when a great part of the goods of the Church was handed over to the
recently established hierarchy of the dissident brethren and when it was
decreed in the treaty between the Cossacks and the Polish king that the
union of the Ruthenians with the Apostolic See was to be destroyed; on
the contrary, they continued with tenacious constancy to defend the
flocks entrusted to them.

18. But God does not permit his people to be tried by excessive
affliction and at length, after the peace of Andrussovia in 1667, he bade
more peaceful days dawn for this people after so many trials and perils.
The peace thus obtained resulted daily in greater blessings for our holy
religion. In fact Christian faith and Christian morals so flourished that
in the two eparchies which in 1596 had unhappily remained separated from
unity opinion every day grew more favorable to a return to the Catholic
fold. Thus it happily came about that in 1691 the eparchy of Przemysl,
and in 1700 that of Lvov were united to the Apostolic See, and so, that
almost the whole of the Ruthenian people then inhabiting Poland were in
enjoyment of Catholic unity. All prospered more from day to day, to the
great gain of Christianity, and so in 1720 the metropolitan and the rest
of the bishops of the Ruthenian Church met in council at Zamosc to
provide to the best of their ability by common counsel for the growing
needs of the faithful; from the decrees of this council--confirmed by our
predecessor Benedict XIII in the Apostolic Constitution Apostolatus
officium of 19th July 1724--no small benefit resulted to the Ruthenian
community.

19. However it came about by the inscrutable will of God that towards the
end of the century this community was harassed by many persecutions and
vexations, and after the partition of Poland these became ever harder and
more bitter in the areas which were annexed to the Russian Empire. After
the death of Alexander I the rash policy was deliberately adopted of
entirely breaking the union of the Ruthenians with the Roman Church.
Already most of their eparchies had been almost cut off from any
intercourse with the Apostolic See. Soon bishops were chosen who were
imbued and inspired with zeal for schism, and so would become the lackeys
and applauders of the civil power. In the seminary of Vilna, founded by
the tsar Alexander 1, teaching hostile to the Roman pontiffs was imparted
to the clergy of both rites. The Basilian Order, whose members had always
been a great support to the Catholic Church of the Eastern rite, was
deprived of its own government and administration, and its monks and
monasteries were entirely subjected to the consistories of the eparchies.
Then the priests of the Latin rite were prohibited under grave penalties
from administering the sacraments or other religious helps to the
Ruthenians. Finally, alas, in 1839 the union of the Ruthenian Church with
the dissident Russian Church was solemnly proclaimed.

20. It is impossible to describe the miseries, perils and hardships with
which the most noble nation of the Ruthenians was afflicted at that time,
for no other crime or guilt but that of crying out against the wrong done
it and striving to retain its faith, when it had been driven by force and
fraud into schism.

21. Justly and rightly, therefore, our predecessor Gregory XVI deplored
and lamented this deed, and denounced its shamefulness to the whole
Catholic world, in his allocution of 22nd November 1839. But his solemn
protest and reprobation went unheard; the Catholic Church had to lament
the tearing by iniquitous violence from her motherly embrace of these her
sons. Moreover not many years later the eparchy of Chelm, belonging to
the Polish kingdom united to Russia, suffered the same wretched fate.
Those of the faithful who would not depart from the true faith, and
dutifully and undauntedly resisted the union with the dissident Church
imposed in 1875, were shamefully punished with fines and flogging and
exile.

22. On the other hand, during this same period the Ruthenians enjoyed
peace and tranquillity in the eparchies of Lvov and Przemysl, which had
been united to the empire of Austria at the partition of Poland. In 1807
the metropolitan title of Halicz was restored there and permanently
attached to the archdiocese of Lvov. This province flourished so much
that two of its metropolitans, Michael Levitsky (1816--58) and Sylvester
Sembratovitch (1882--98), who both displayed great prudence and zeal in
their rule, were honored for their personal qualities and notable merits
with the Roman purple, and appointed to the supreme senate of the Church.
Moreover, since the number of Catholics was ever increasing, our
predecessor Leo XIII formally erected a new eparchy, that of Stanislavov
in 1885. Six years later the prosperity of the Galician Church was
consolidated in an extraordinary manner when all the bishops with the
legate of the supreme pontiff and many other clergy met at Lvov to hold
there a provincial council and issue opportune liturgical and
disciplinary regulations.

23. At the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth
century economic conditions led to the emigration of many Ruthenians from
Galicia to the U.S.A., Canada and South America. Our predecessor Pius X
was therefore fearful that these beloved sons, not knowing the language
of the place and unaccustomed to Latin rites, might be caught by the
fallacies of heretics and schismatics, or might be ensnared by doubt and
error and miserably abandon all religion. In 1907, therefore, he
appointed a bishop with special faculties for them. Later on, since the
number and the needs of these Catholics were increasing, a special
ordinary bishop was appointed for Galician Catholics in the U.S.A., and
another in Canada, besides the ordinary bishop for the faithful of this
rite who had emigrated from the Podkarpatska Rus, Hungary or Jugoslavia.
Since then, both the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda and that of the
Eastern Church have issued opportune and appropriate decrees regulating
the ecclesiastical affairs of the Ruthenians in these jurisdictions and
in the South American countries.

24. It is not, therefore, surprising that the Catholic Ruthenian
community has more than once desired, when opportunity offered, to give
public expression to its gratitude for so many benefits and to its
attachment to the Roman pontiffs. A notable instance occurred in 1895,
the third centenary of the happy union of their fathers with the
Apostolic See achieved at Rome and confirmed at Brest. Not only was the
happy event recalled with appropriate celebrations in every part of
Galicia, but a most distinguished delegation of the metropolitan and
bishops was sent to Rome to express the love of the Ruthenian Church for
the chief bishop, the successor of St. Peter, and to offer him their
respect, reverence and obedience. Receiving this delegation with due
honors, our predecessor Leo XIII addressed them with fatherly joy and
benevolence, and he extolled the union of the Ruthenians with the
Apostolic See as the salutary source of true light, unshakable peace and
supernatural fruit to all those who sincerely held fast to it.

25. In our own days the benefits which the Roman pontiffs have bestowed
on this beloved people have been no less. Especially when the first world
war devastated those regions and during the following years they left
nothing undone which could bring any help or solace to the Ruthenian
community. When the difficulties which oppressed this Catholic community
had, by God's help, been overcome, it was seen to respond with a ready
and active will to the indefatigable zeal of its bishops and the labor of
the rest of the clergy, their fellow-workers. Then, alas, came the second
war and, as is well known it was much more grievous and harmful to the
Ruthenian hierarchy and their faithful flock. But, before we proceed to a
brief account of the present hardships and miseries which this Church is
suffering to the grave peril of its very existence, we will add some
fuller and clearer account of the great and high blessings brought to the
Ruthenian Church and people by the union happily concluded three hundred
and fifty years ago.

26. For indeed, after summarily and hastily outlining the history of this
most auspicious union and seeing its vicissitudes, sometimes happy,
sometimes very sad, we are faced with the question: what benefit was this
union to the Ruthenian people and their Church? What profit and advantage
did they receive from this Apostolic See and the Roman pontiffs? We shall
be performing an opportune and useful service in duly answering this
question, especially because there are not wanting some who hate and
bitterly repudiate this union of Brest.

27. In the first place it must be noted that our predecessors have always
shown the greatest zeal in protecting and preserving the lawful rites of
the Ruthenians. For when the bishops, through the bishops of Vladimir and
Lutsk who were sent to Rome on this business, asked "that His Holiness,
for himself and his successors, who were never to make any change in this
matter, would deign to preserve and confirm to the Eastern Church its
administration of the sacraments, its rites and ceremonies, involate and
entire, as in use at the time of the union."[7] Clement VIII graciously
acceded to their petition, and prescribed that no alteration was to be
made in these matters. Not even the use of the new Gregorian calendar was
afterwards imposed on them, although it seemed at first that the
Ruthenians ought to employ it while retaining the liturgical calendar of
the Eastern rite; so that even now the Julian calendar can remain in
force among them.

28. Furthermore, our same predecessor by a letter of 23rd February 1596
conceded that the election of those who had been duly nominated as
suffragan bishops of the Ruthenians should be confirmed by the
metropolitan, as was proposed in the pact of reconciliation, and in
accordance with the ancient discipline of the Eastern Church. Others of
our predecessors permitted the metropolitans to establish schools in any
part of Russia and freely and lawfully to commit them to any directors
and teachers they pleased. They also decreed that the Ruthenians should
not be at a disadvantage compared with the rest of Catholics as regards
the distribution of spiritual favors; they wished them to share with the
rest of the faithful in all grants of indulgences, on condition that they
should also fulfill the necessary conditions. Paul V extended to all
those who attended the schools established by the metropolitans the
special spiritual privileges granted by the Roman pontiffs to members of
the sodalities of the Blessed Virgin established in the churches of the
Society of Jesus; and Urban VIII granted to all who made retreats with
the Basilian monks the same indulgences as had been bestowed on the
clerks regular of the Society of Jesus.

29. From all this it is evident that our predecessors have always shown
the same fatherly love to the Ruthenians as to the Catholics of the Latin
rite. They have also considered it most important to defend the rights
and privileges of their hierarchy. When many Latins asserted that the
Ruthenian rite was of inferior standing, and some Latin bishops even
declared that the Ruthenian prelates did not enjoy full episcopal rights
and functions but were subject to them, this Apostolic See rejected these
unjust and fanciful opinions; on 28th September 1643 a decree was
published to the following effect: "Cardinal Pamphili reported divers
decrees of the special Congregation for the united Ruthenians and His
Holiness approved the decree of the same special Congregation of the
preceding 1st August, that the Ruthenian bishops in union were bishops,
and were to be so called and regarded. He approved the decree of the same
Congregation that the Ruthenian bishops should be able to erect schools
in their dioceses for the instruction of their youth in letters and
sciences, and that the Ruthenian ecclesiastics enjoyed the privileges
fori, canonis, immunitatis, libertatis, which the priests of the Latin
Church enjoy."[8]

30. The tireless and solicitous care of the Roman pontiffs for the
preservation and protection of the Ruthenian rites is best seen from the
course of the long drawn out question of the change of rite. Although,
for special reasons which were utterly alien to their will, they could
not through a long period impose on the laity an absolute prohibition of
this change, none the less their repeated efforts to establish that
prohibition, and their exhortations to the Latin bishops and priests,
clearly show how much our predecessors had this matter at heart. In the
actual decree which in 1595 happily established the union of the
Ruthenians with the Apostolic See there is no clear and open prohibition
of going over from the Easter to the Latin rite. Nonetheless, what the
mind of the Apostolic See then already was is shown by the letter sent in
1608 by the general of the Society of Jesus to his subjects in Poland. He
tells them that those who had never belonged to the Latin rite could not
embrace it after the reconciliation, "because it was the precept of the
Church, and was specially laid down in the documents of the union under
Clement VIII that everyone should remain in the rite of his own
Church."[9]

31. But, as complaints became more and more frequent that young Ruthenian
nobles were adopting the Latin rite, the Sacred Congregation of
Propaganda by a decree of 7th February 1624 ordered that "in future it
should not be lawful for any of the united Ruthenians, whether lay folk
or ecclesiastics, secular or regular, and especially monks of St. Basil
the Great, to go over to the Latin rite, for any reason, however urgent,
without the special permission of the Apostolic See."[10]

32. However, when king Sigismund III of Poland petitioned that this
prohibition should not be absolutely enforced--he wished it to apply only
to ecclesiastics--our predecessor Urban VIII could not but assent to this
most illustrious supporter of Catholic unity. The Apostolic See therefore
endeavored to obtain by advice and admonition what, for special reasons,
was not enjoined by law, and there are many proofs of this.

33. Thus already in the preamble of the decree of 7th July 1624, by which
the adoption of the Latin rite was forbidden only to the clergy, it was
laid down that priests of the Latin rite were to be warned not, when
hearing confessions, to encourage the lay faithful to adopt it. Warnings
to the same effect were repeated again and again, and the Apostolic
Nuncios in Poland by order of the supreme pontiffs made every effort that
they should have the desired result. That the mind and judgment of the
Apostolic See on this subject did not change even in later times is shown
by the letter of our predecessor Benedict XIV to the bishops of Lvov and
Przemysl in 1751 in which inter alia this is found: "Your letter written
on 17th July has reached us; in it you justly complain of Ruthenians
going over from the Greek to the Latin rite, whereas you are well aware,
venerable brethren, that our predecessors have detested and we detest
these changes of rite, since we very much desire that preservation and
not the destruction of the Greek rite."[11] The same pontiff therefore
promised that he would remove all hindrances in the matter and would
finally prohibit such going over to the Latin rite in a solemn decree.
However, the adverse circumstances and conditions of the times did not
permit that his wishes and promises should have their desired outcome.

34. But the Roman pontiffs Clement XIV and Pius VII decreed that
Catholics of the Ruthenian rite living in Russia could not change over to
the Latin rite; and then at length, in the agreement styled Concordia
entered into by the Latin and Ruthenian bishops under the auspices of the
congregation for the promotion of the faith in 1863, it was laid down
that this prohibition bound all Ruthenians.

35. From this brief historical summary it is easily seen with what care
the Apostolic See has watched over the integral preservation of the
Ruthenian rite, both as regards the community as a whole and as regards
individuals. However, no one will be surprised if it has permitted or
temporarily approved some minor changes on account of the special
circumstances of the times, provided always that the chief and essential
rites remained whole and entire. Thus, for example, it has permitted no
changes to be made in the rites of the liturgy, save the few decreed by
the Ruthenian bishops themselves in the council of Zamosc.

36. However, ostensibly for the protection of the complete integrity of
their rite but in reality so that the unlearned people might more easily
fall off from the Catholic faith, some crafty promoters of schism
endeavored to reintroduce old customs, already in part obsolete. The
Roman pontiffs, therefore, as in duty bound, openly denounced their
clever and hidden machinations and decreed that "without consulting the
Apostolic See no innovation was to be made in the rites of the liturgy,
even on the grounds of restoring ceremonies thought to be more in
conformity with liturgies approved by the same See, but only for very
grave reason and by the authority of the Apostolic See."[12]

37. For the rest, far from its being the mind of the Apostolic See to
damage the integrity or hinder the preservation of this rite, it rather
caused the Ruthenian Church to cherish most religiously the traditions in
liturgical matters handed down from antiquity. An outstanding sign of
this zealous favor towards the Ruthenian rite may be seen in the new
Roman edition of its liturgical books begun in our pontificate and
already in part happily accomplished. In this edition the Apostolic See,
gladly assenting to the wishes of the Ruthenian bishops, has endeavored
to restore their liturgical rites in accordance with their venerated
ancient traditions.

38. There now comes to our mind another benefit which the Ruthenian
community certainly derived from this union with the Apostolic See.
Through this unity this most noble people was joined to the Catholic
Church, by whose life accordingly it lives, by whose truth it is
enlightened, in whose grace it shares. From this proceed streams from the
heavenly fountain which so penetrate and permeate all things that the
most beautiful flowers of all virtues and an abundance of salutary fruit
are brought forth.

39. Before the return to unity our dissident brethren themselves lamented
that our holy religion was in a ruinous state in those regions, that the
vice of simony everywhere prevailed in the choice of bishops and other
sacred ministers, that Church goods were dissipated, the morals of monks
corrupt, the discipline of monasteries in decay, and even the bond of
obedience between the faithful and their pastors every day further
weakened and imperiled. But, on the contrary, after the establishment of
unity, by the inspiration and help of God, the state of affairs gradually
improved. How great was the strength of mind and constancy needed by the
bishops to restore Church discipline everywhere, especially in the early
days; so troubled by every kind of disturbance and opposition! What
persevering work and patient labor they had to devote to raising up a
clergy of the highest moral standard; to consoling the flocks committed
to them, harassed by such harsh circumstances; and finally to sustaining
and strengthening in every way those whose faith was wavering and
faltering! None the less, contrary to all human calculation, not only did
this auspicious union triumphantly overcome all the contrary storms, but
it emerged from its victorious battle with increased vitality and
strength. Thus it came about that it was not by the sword or the scourge,
not by promises or threats, but by an outstanding example of religious
life and a kind of manifest display of divine grace, that the Catholic
Ruthenians finally brought the dissident eparchies of Lvov and Przemysl
to enter the one fold.

40. When at last peace and tranquillity were restored, especially in the
eighteenth century, the flourishing state of the Ruthenian Church
manifested itself even externally. Witnesses to this are the great
monuments of this period, the chief church of the city of Lvov, dedicated
to St. George, and the churches and monasteries built at Polshayev,
Torokan, Zhirovitse and elsewhere.

41. It seems useful to make a brief reference here to the Basilian monks,
who in all these matters have deserved so well, so excellently, by their
great and zealous work. After their monasteries under the influence of
Velamin Rutsky had been brought back to a better and holier state and
formed into a congregation, many of their members gave such an example of
piety, learning and apostolic zeal that they became the leaders and
teachers of religious living to the Christian people. In the schools
which they opened they not only imparted to youths, often of outstanding
ability, an excellent education in divine and human knowledge, but
communicated to them their own solid virtue, so that they were in no way
surpassed by those educated in the Latin schools. Our dissident brethren
clearly perceived this, since many of them gladly left home and country
to betake themselves to these homes of learning and share in their
attractions and advantages.

42. In more recent times the Ruthenian community has benefited no less
from its union with the Apostolic See. This may easily be seen by a
consideration of the state of the Galician Church as it was before the
ruin and devastation wrought by this savage war. In this province the
faithful numbered about 3,600,000, the priests 2,275, and places of
worship or parishes 2,226. Besides this, outside Galicia but springing
from it, there were many Catholic Ruthenians, especially in America--they
may be estimated at 400,000 or 500,000. Thus the number of the faithful
was perhaps greater than at any time in their history, and in every
eparchy they showed a correspondingly outstanding zeal for virtue, piety
and religious living. In the seminaries of the eparchies students were
duly and diligently educated in preparation for the sacred ministry. The
Christian faithful, participating with great love and reverence in divine
worship according to their own rite, brought forth abundantly the goodly
fruit of religion.

43. While cursorily and briefly recalling the flourishing state of the
Ruthenian Church, we cannot pass over in silence the illustrious
metropolitan Andrew Szepticky. For nearly forty-five years he labored
with tireless assiduity, making himself most acceptable to his flock on
more than one account besides what concerned their spiritual profit. In
the course of his episcopate a theological society was founded to
encourage the clergy in a deeper and more fruitful study of the sacred
science; an ecclesiastical academy was erected in Lvov in which Ruthenian
youths of superior intellectual gifts could apply themselves to
philosophy, theology and other higher studies in the manner customary in
universities; every kind of literary production, books, newspapers and
reviews, greatly increased and won a good reputation even among foreign
nations. Besides all this, sacred art was cultivated in accordance with
the tradition of the nation and its particular genius; a museum and other
homes of art were equipped with outstanding works of antiquity, and
finally, a number of institutions were begun and developed to meet the
needs of the poorer classes of citizens and to assist the indigent.

44. We must mention, too, the outstanding merits of the religious
societies both of men and women, whose work in these matters brought too
great spiritual profit. We will speak first of the monasteries of
Basilian monks and nuns. In the time of the emperor Joseph II of Austria
they had suffered great harm from the invasion of the civil power into
their affairs, but later, in 1882 and the following years, they were
restored to their glory by the reform of Dobromil, as it is called; they
join an ardent apostolic zeal to the love of the life of seclusion and
the inspiration from on high which they draw from the rules and example
of their holy founder. To these old monastic communities have been added
equally praiseworthy new religious societies of men and women; such are
the Order of Studites, whose monks devote themselves above all to
heavenly contemplation and works of holy penance, and the religious
congregation of the Holy Redeemer, of the Ruthenian rite, whose members
work most fruitfully both in Galicia and in Canada. Finally,
there are many institutes of religious women--the Servants of Mary
Immaculate, the Myrrhbearers (Myrophorae), the Sisters of St. Joseph, of
St. Josaphat, of the Holy Family, of St. Vincent de Paul--who work for
the education of girls and undertake the care of the sick.

45. Mention must also be made here of the college dedicated to St.
Josaphat, erected on the Janiculum and munificently endowed by our
predecessor Pius XI. Selected young men had for centuries been prepared
for the priesthood in the Pontifical College of the Greeks, and then in
1897 another of our predecessors, Leo XIII, established a special college
at Rome for young Ruthenians divinely called to the priesthood. Finally,
as we have said, since this building had become inadequate for the
increasing number of students, our immediate predecessor, conformably to
his special love for the Ruthenian people, built it new and larger
premises, so that in them candidates for the priesthood should be
instructed and formed in sacred learning and the special discipline of
their rite, and should happily grow in reverence, obedience and love
towards the Vicar of Jesus Christ, for the future welfare of the
Ruthenian Church.

46. The Ruthenian community received another not less important ornament
and benefit from its union with the Apostolic See in being graced with a
noble company of confessors and martyrs. To preserve their faith
unimpaired and to maintain their zealous loyalty to the Roman pontiffs,
these did not hesitate to endure every kind of labor and hardship, or
even to go gladly to their death, in the spirit of that maxim of the
Divine Redeemer: "Blessed are you, when men hate you and cast you off and
revile you, when they reject your name as something evil, for the Son of
Man's sake. When that day comes, rejoice and exult over it; for behold, a
rich reward awaits you in heaven."[13]

47. The first of their number to come to our mind is the holy pontiff
Josaphat Kuntzevitch, whose unconquerable fortitude we have briefly
praised above. When he was murderously sought out by abandoned enemies of
the Catholic name, he freely offered himself to the murderers, and gave
himself as a victim to bring about as soon as possible the return of his
dissident brethren. He was the outstanding martyr for Catholic faith and
unity at that period, but not the only one; not a few both of the clergy
and the laity received the same palm of victory after him; some were
slain with the sword, some atrociously flogged to death, some drowned in
the Dnieper, so passing from their triumph over death to heaven.

48. Not much later, in the middle of the seventeenth century, the
Cossacks openly took up arms against Poland. Then the hatred of those who
opposed religious unity became ever stronger and more violent; they were
convinced that the introduction of this union was the cause of all the
calamities and evils that had befallen them; they were determined
therefore to use every way and means to cast it down and destroy it.
There resulted almost innumerable wrongs to the Catholic Church of the
Ruthenians; many churches were profaned, pillaged, demolished, and their
furnishing and property destroyed. Not a few of the clergy and a great
number of the faithful were severely flogged, terribly tortured, most
cruelly done to death. Even the bishops themselves were despoiled of
their goods, ejected from their sees and forced to flee. However, even
amid the raging of this storm, their spirit did not fail; they did
everything possible for the protection and safe-keeping of the flocks
entrusted to them, and, more than that, in their dire straits they
exerted every effort, by prayer and argument and labor, to bring the
whole Russian Church with the tsar Alexis into the unity of the fold.

49. Besides all this a new and no less bitter persecution of Catholicism
was begun a few years before the partition of Poland. At the time when
the troops of the Russian emperor had invaded Poland many churches of the
Ruthenian rite were taken away from the Catholics by force of arms; the
priests who refused to abjure their faith were put in chains, insulted,
scourged and cast into prison, where they suffered cruelly from hunger,
thirst and cold.

50. Not inferior to these in constancy and fortitude were the clergy who,
about the year 1839, suffered the loss of their goods and even of their
liberty, rather than abandon their religious duties. Among these we wish
to recall in a special way the well-known priest, Joseph Ancewski, who
was kept in harsh confinement in the monastery of Suzdal for thirty-two
years, attaining the reward of his singular steadfastness in 1877, when
he died a most holy death. We recall also the one hundred and sixty
priests, who for open profession of the Catholic faith were torn away
from their families, which were left in wretchedness, were transported
into the interior of Russia and imprisoned in monasteries, but could not
be turned from their holy resolve by hunger or any other affliction.

51. Equally conspicuous for fortitude were the many, both clergy and
laity, of the eparchy of Chelm, who with unconquerable courage resisted
the persecutors of the Catholic faith. For example, when troops came to
seize their church and hand it over to the schismatics, the inhabitants
of Pratolin did not resist force by force, but, unarmed, put their
crowded bodies in the way of their attackers like a living wall; some
were wounded and savagely ill-treated, some suffered long imprisonment or
were deported to the icy regions of Siberia, some, finally, were put to
the sword and shed their blood for Christ. The cause of those who sealed
their Catholic faith by death has been begun in their eparchy, and so
there is hope that at length it may be permitted to number them among the
blessed. These iniquitous crimes were not, however, perpetrated in only
one place, but in many cities, towns and villages. First, all the
churches of the Catholics were handed over to the followers of schism,
all the clergy driven from their places and forced to leave unguarded the
flock committed to them. Then the faithful, with no account taken of
their own wishes, were enrolled in the dissident Church. However,
although orphaned of their pastors and deprived of the offices and helps
of their religion, they made supreme efforts to hold fast to their faith.
Thus it was that later when members of the Society of Jesus secretly went
to them, in disguise and at the peril of their lives, to instruct, to
exhort and to comfort them, they welcomed them with the greatest joy and
devotion.

52. But a wonderful and happy spectacle was to be seen in the Ruthenian
districts in 1905, when liberty to profess any religion was to some
extent granted. Innumerable Catholics came forth from their retreats into
open day. They had no priests of their own Eastern rite, so they went in
a body, singing their thanks and praise to God, with the standard of the
cross carried on high and their sacred pictures publicly exposed for
veneration, to the churches of the Latin rite, entry to which had
previously been prohibited to them under severe penalties. There they
begged the lawful ministers of the Church to open their doors to them,
receive their profession of faith and enroll them again among the
Catholics. In this way in a short time 200,000 faithful were duly
received back into the Church.

53. However, even in more recent times the bishops and priests and their
faithful flocks have needed fortitude and constancy of spirit to retain
their Catholic faith, protect the Church and defend its sacred liberty.
Among them we must recall here, with special honor, the metropolitan
Andrew Szepticky. During the first European war, when Galicia was
occupied by Russian armies, he was expelled from his see and deported to
a monastery, where he was for a time at least kept in prison; he had no
greater desire than to testify to his great veneration for the Apostolic
See, and even, sustained by God's grace, gladly to suffer martyrdom for
his flock, for whose welfare he had already long spent his strength and
solicitude.

54. We have now seen, from the brief historical relation of events in
this letter, how many and how great were the benefits and blessings
brought to the Ruthenian people by its union with the Catholic Church.
This is not, indeed, to be wondered at; for if "it was God's good
pleasure to let all completeness dwell" in Christ,[14] no one can enjoy
this completeness who is separated from the Church which "is his
body."[15] As our predecessor Pelagius II asserts, "whoever is not in the
peace and unity of the Church will not be able to possess God."[16] We
have seen, too, that this beloved Ruthenian people has had to suffer
great hardships, perils and vexations in defending to the best of its
power its Catholic unity, but from these Divine Providence has freed it
again and again and restored peace to it.

55. But now, with the greatest fatherly anguish of heart, we see a new
and terrible storm threatening this Church. The information which reaches
us is scanty, but is sufficient to cause solicitude and fill us with
anxiety. It is the anniversary of the day three hundred and fifty years
ago, when this ancient community of Christians was happily united to the
supreme pastor, the successor of St. Peter; but this same day has become
for us "a day of tribulation and distress, a day of calamity and misery,
a day of darkness and obscurity, a day of clouds and whirlwinds."[17]

56. For we have learnt with great grief that, in those territories which
have recently been made over to the sway of Russia, our dear brethren and
sons of the Ruthenian people are in dire straits in consequence of their
fidelity to the Apostolic See; every means are being employed to take
them away from the bosom of their mother, the Church, and to induce them,
against their will and against their known religious duty, to enter the
communion of the dissidents. Thus it is reported that the clergy of the
Ruthenian rite have complained in a letter to the civil government that
in the Western Ukraine, as it is called today, their Church has been
placed in an extremely difficult position; all its bishops and many of
its priests have been arrested; and at the same time it has been
prohibited that anyone should take up the government of the same
Ruthenian Church.

57. We are well aware that this harsh and severe treatment is speciously
attributed to political reasons. But this is no new procedure used today
for the first time; very often in the course of the centuries the enemies
of the Church have hesitated to make public profession of their
opposition to the Catholic faith and to attack it openly; they brought
cunning and subtle allegations that Catholics were plotting against the
State. In the very same way the Jews accused the Divine Redeemer himself
before the Roman governor, saying "We have discovered that this man is
subverting the loyalty of our people, forbids the payment of tribute to
Caesar."[18] But faces and events themselves plainly manifest, and show
in its true light, what was and is the real cause of this savagery. For,
as is well known, the patriarch Alexis, recently elected by the dissident
bishops of Russia, openly exalts and preaches defection from the Catholic
Church in a letter lately addressed to the Ruthenian Church, a letter
which contributed not a little to the initiation of this persecution.

58. These griefs cut us the more deeply because while the cruel war was
yet raging almost all the nations of the world, through a gathering of
their representatives, solemnly proclaimed among other things that no
persecution of religion must ever be undertaken. This had given us hope
that peace and true liberty would be granted everywhere to the Catholic
Church, the more so since the Church has always taught, and teaches, that
obedience to the ordinances of the lawfully established civil power,
within the sphere and bounds of its authority, is a duty of conscience.
But, unfortunately, the events we have mentioned have grievously and
bitterly weakened, have almost destroyed, our hope and confidence so far
as the lands of the Ruthenians are concerned.

59. Amid these heavy calamities, since human help is seen to be of no
avail, nothing remains, venerable brethren, but earnestly to implore the
most merciful God, who "will do justice to the needy and will avenge the
poor,"[19] that of his loving kindness he would himself calm this
terrible storm and at length bring it to an end. We again and again
exhort you and the flock committed to you to join with us by humble
prayer and works of penance in imploring him by whose heavenly light the
minds of men are illumined, by whose heavenly command their wills are
directed, to spare his people and not to give up his heritage to
reproach,[20] and speedily to free the Church of the Ruthenians from this
hurtful crisis.

60. In this sad and anxious state of affairs our fatherly heart goes out
especially to those who are so harshly and bitterly oppressed by it, and
first of all to you, venerable brothers, the bishops of the Ruthenian
people. Great as are the trials which afflict you, you are more burdened
with anxiety for the safety of your flocks than for the injuries and
sufferings inflicted upon yourselves, in accordance with the words: "the
good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep."[21] The present is dark
and the future uncertain and full of cares, but do not lose heart. Rather
so display yourselves, presenting "such a spectacle . . . to the whole
creation, men and angels alike,"[22] that all the faithful of Christ may
see in your endurance and courage a shining example. Courageously, and
steadfastly enduring this attack of your enemies, and afire with a divine
love for the Church, you become "the good odor of Christ unto God, in
them that are saved and in them that perish."[23] In bonds as you are,
and separated from your sons, it is not in your power to give them
instruction in our holy religion, but your very bonds more fully and
profoundly proclaim and preach Christ.

61. As a father we next address you, our beloved sons who have received
the seal of the priesthood, and must therefore follow more closely in the
footsteps of Christ, "who suffered for us,"[24] and still more than
others must bear the brunt of battle. We are deeply moved by your
distress, but rejoice that we can say to the greater number of you,
borrowing the words of the Divine Redeemer: "I know of all thy doings,
thy faith, thy love, thy generosity, thy endurance, how in these last
days thou art more active than at first."[25] We exhort you to continue
steadfastly and inflexibly to stand firm in your faith in these
lamentable times; continue to uphold the weak and support the wavering.
So far as there is need, warn the faithful of Christ entrusted to you
that it is absolutely unlawful, even merely exteriorly or verbally, to
deny or abandon Christ and His Church; expose the cunning wiles of those
who promise men earthly advantages and greater happiness in this life,
but destroy their souls. Show yourselves "as the ministers of God, in
much patience, in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses . . . in
chastity, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy
Ghost, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth, in the power of God;
by the armor of justice on the right hand and on the left."[26]

62. Lastly we address all of you, Catholics of the Ruthenian Church. We
share your sorrows and afflictions with a father's heart. We know that
grievous snares are being set for your faith. There seems ground for fear
that in the near future still greater hardships will befall those who
refuse to betray their sacred religious allegiance. For that reason we
even now exhort you in the Lord, beloved sons, to be terrified by no
menaces or injuries, to be moved by no danger of exile or risk even of
life ever to abjure your faith and your fidelity to Mother Church. That
treasure is involved which is hidden in a field and the man who finds it
"hides it again, and now, for the joy it gives him is going home tO sell
all that he has and buy that field."[27] Remember, too, what the Divine
Redeemer Himself said in the Gospel: "He is not worthy of me, that loves
father or mother more; he is not worthy of me, that loves son or daughter
more; he is not worthy of me, that does not take up his cross and follow
me. He who secures his own life will lose it; it is the man who loses his
life for my sake that will secure it."[28] To this divine pronouncement
we will add the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles: "It is well said,
We are to share his life, because we have shared his death; if we endure,
we shall reign with him, if we disown him, he in his turn will disown us.
If we play him false, he remains true to his word; he cannot disown
himself."[29]

63. We think, beloved sons, that we cannot reinforce this fatherly
exhortation of ours and bring it to an end more fittingly than by these
admonitions of the same Apostle of the Gentiles: "Be on the watch, stand
firm in the faith, play the man, be full of courage."[30] "Obey those who
have charge of you,"[31] your bishops and priests, when they give you
instructions for your salvation and in accordance with the prescriptions
of the Church. Offer active resistance to all those who in any way
whatever scheme against your faith. Be "eager to preserve that unity the
Spirit gives you, whose bond is peace. You are one body, with a single
Spirit; each of you, when he was called, called in the same hope."[32] In
the midst of every kind of sorrow and affliction remember "that the
sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared to the glory to
come that shall be revealed in us."[33] "But the Lord keeps faith with
us; he will strengthen you, and keep you from all harm."[34]

64. We have absolute confidence that, by the inspiration and help of
divine grace, you will respond courageously and with a will to these
exhortations of ours; and we foresee and humbly pray that better and more
peaceful times will come for you from the merciful Father, the God who
gives all encouragement.[35]

Meanwhile, as a pledge of heavenly gifts and a witness of our goodwill,
with all our heart we give the Apostolic Blessing to all of you,
venerable brethren, and to your flocks, and especially to the bishops,
priests and all the faithful of the Ruthenian Church.

Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, on 23rd December 1945, the seventh year of
our pontificate.